Pistons Host University Of Detroit Mercy Night On Tuesday

UD-M Titans head coach Ray McCallum talks with Ray McCallum during the second round of the 2012 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at CenturyLink Center on March 16, 2012 in Omaha, Nebraska.

Head coach Ray McCallum of the Detroit Titans talks with Ray McCallum #3 against the Kansas Jayhawks during the second round of the 2012 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at CenturyLink Center on March 16, 2012 in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

The Detroit Pistons are hosting a special University of Detroit Mercy Night during Tuesday’s game against the Sacramento Kings at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

The game will honor the university as well as alumni players in the NBA — including Detroit’s own Ray McCallum Jr., a point guard for the Kings.

Alumni can purchase game tickets at an exclusive price that includes a voucher for a large beer or souvenir soda. Packages start at just $18. For more information, visit www.palacenet.com/UofDNight.

University of Detroit Mercy Head Basketball Coach Ray McCallum, who is also Ray Jr.’s dad, talked to 97.1 The Ticket’s Dan Leach ahead of the special night.

“It’s just great that the Pistons are going to recognize our university and Ray on Tuesday night at the Palace and hopefully a lot of the Titan fans and a lot of the local fans will get an opportunity to come out and watch,” Coach McCallum said. “I know he’s really excited about it.”

Coach McCallum said his son, who won a Horizon League Title with the Titans, is the perfect role model for student athletes today.

“It’s a great lesson for young players, in terms of always being ready, being prepared and working hard, going in early and staying late, doing the extra work — I mean, that’s who he is and he had to be patient. Since the All-Star break, through the month of March, he’s been able to contribute, playing about 20-minutes a game. I think more so than anything, our players and young players around can see that you can have success but you have to prepare for it,” he said.

McCallum said even though the Titans’ season didn’t end the way they wanted it to, his players learned a lot of valuable lessons.

“We have a young and relatively inexperienced basketball team so, I guess you could say it was more of a transition year,” he said. “But we did learn a lot, we played a great non-conference schedule, got off to a great start in the Horizon League… but lost in the post-season tournament against Milwaukee Tuesday night.”

McCallum also talked about the past year’s triumphs and what he’s looking forward to with next season’s team. Hear what else he had to say: